West Family Dinner
by MoreOfALoner
Summary: Barry Allen is nervous to attend the first West family dinner since he and Iris got divorced, and he's also nervous to hide his secret from the mind-reader Cecile. aka Snowbarry secret relationship


**This, as the rest of my Snowbarry stories has been sitting in one of my files for a long time. **

**I feel this is the right time for it to surface,**

**So here it goes Snowbarry fluff and a little angst (just a hint)**

* * *

Star labs has always been a busy place and that afternoon was no different.

Cisco, Caitlin and Barry had spent the entire morning going after a meta that was able to disappear out of thin air leaving a blast of energy behind him.

By afternoon they had achieved to capture him and now Cisco and Caitlin were at the cortex when Barry flashed in.

"Alright guys, I left the meta to the police and I think we're done for the day." he said and rushed again to change into his casual clothes.

"This was an easy one." Caitlin said.

"Easy?" Barry repeated.

"He almost burnt my lungs. How was that easy?"

"Oh come on," Cisco exclaimed "we captured the meta in one day, less than a day, and you didn't even need Vibe or killer frost there to help you. That's an easy job for me."

"It was so easy Cisco didn't even came up with a name." Caitlin added.

"Yeah, well we're kind of in our peak right now. We're unbeatable. The perfect team."

Barely looked at his friends briefly and then concentrated his stare at just the young geneticist who was looking back at him and smiling.

Cisco coughed to bring everyone back to reality.

"We have agreed there won't be any lovey-dovey stuff in this building. You keep your relationship to yourself. I want my friends to stay my friends not a rom-com couple.

I won't under any circumstances be the third wheel, because we are not actors in a rom-com movie, we are a team, the three amigos. You are not going to make us a 2 + 1. Nope, no I am not, under any circumstances and I repeat under any circumstances, the third freaking wheel"

"Relax, Cisco we didn't do anything." Barry said and walked closer to the scientist.

"Besides we love you too much to make you a third wheel. We are a family, Cisco, all of us." Caitlin explained while she sat back in order to be closer to Barry who had stood behind her chair and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"And you are the very first to know that we're together." Barry added. "That's gotta be some proof, right?"

"Actually I am the only one who knows that you're together." Cisco corrected the scarlet speedster.

"No, Oliver and Felicity know too, actually. Felicity figured it out by herself. No wonder she's a genius."

"And when do you think the West family should learn about this?"

"We're not ready yet, Cisco. We've discussed this. We don't wanna hurt or disrespect Iris by how quickly we got together after the divorce." Caitlin explained.

When she looked at Barry's side she saw the look in his eyes that encouraged her to tell the rest of the story and so she continued.

"And I, I am a very afraid of what Joe's reaction is going to be."

"I actually understand and respect that. But guys it's been four months since the divorce and one since you two became a thing. You gotta tell at some point soon or everyone will get hurt." Cisco advised.

"Yeah, we know. No good comes from lies. But this…" Caitlin got interrupted

"Is not a lie. This is us keeping our personal lives personal." Barry finished her sentence.

"That's just some words you're saying but they don't change the situation, and you both know Joe would agree with me right now." Cisco countered.

"So I am gonna ask again. How long are you going to hide this?"

"Cisco, you are making very hard questions today." Caitlin sighed "Please stop."

She ended half-pleading, half-sarcastic.

"I'm gonna agree with Caitlin. No more questions, especially not today."

"Why not today?" As Cisco asked, the cryo-powered meta exhaled dramatically. "This is the last one, I promise."

"Tonight is going to be a hard night. It's the first family dinner since before the separation, let alone the divorce. Joe said that it's an opportunity now that Wally is back and Joanie is in town for the whole family to gather. It's going to be the first time I will be in the same room as Iris for more than a few seconds after a long time."

"As you get, he's nervous." Caitlin provided. Cisco simply nodded as Caitlin put her hand on top of Barry's who had moved and sat on the desk by her side.

"Especially since in our last real conversation she shouted at me that I ruined her life and no matter what I would always be hung up on her."

"Have you talked to Wally about that? He is her brother after all. He might be angry." Cisco made yet again another question. Caitlin raised her eyebrows comically.

"Are you serious right now?"

"Okay, okay I am sorry. I won't make any more questions."

Barry was pale. "Oh no. What if he doesn't wanna see me now? What if he convinces Joe to not talk to me anymore?"

"Look at what you did?" she said to Cisco and then turned towards Barry. "Barry? Honey? Nothing like that is going to happen. Joe loves you too much to let you out of his life. And Wally is a good man, he looks up to you and he knows you. He will understand that you ended the marriage for both your shakes." Caitlin took both his hands and placed them at either side of her face while she leaned and let her forehead touch Barry's.

"Why don't we get out? Let's go to your place and get you dressed."

Barry agreed and got up, he took her hand said goodbye to Cisco and was ready to flash them both at his apartment, when Caitlin suggested they actually walked.

"It's a really good way to forget about problems and spend some quality time with your girlfriend." She explained.

Once they were on their way to his apartment Barry turned to Caitlin. "Say again what you said before."

"What?"

"Say you're my girlfriend."

"I'm your girlfriend, Barry Allen." She walked in front of him and rested her arms behind his neck. His hand immediately wrapped behind her waist and they kept slowly walking, with Caitlin doing it backwards. "Again." He pleaded, and she chuckled.

"Do you wanna know what frost just said?"

"What?"

"We're like teenagers on our first real relationship." They both chuckled, and Barry stopped moving to kiss her slowly.

"You know we're doing a truly terrible job at keeping us a secret if we're kissing out in the open like that." Caitlin said.

"You're right." Barry gave her a half smile and next thing she knew they were at his place, and he wrapped his arms tighter around her waist lifting her from the ground.

Needless to say Barry would be late again that evening.

Sometime later when it was almost time he left Barry was trying on outfits.

"Does this say 'I'm over you but still single?"

"Your nice blazer and the sweater that itches you?" she asked him.

"How about you go more 'I'm happy to be here, we're just friends'?"

"Someone's jealous?" he grinned but she lowered her eyes.

"Baby, you don't have to be." He kneeled next to the bed. "I am yours. I was yours even back when I was married, you can't doubt that."

She sighed and looked at him in the eyes. "I know, I know. It's just that… she's Iris, you've been in love with her for…"

"No. don't do this. We have talked about this back when things were complicating. I was in love with the idea of Iris. So much so, that I didn't realize I was losing myself, and I was losing you in the process too."

"Remember you are the reason, I am out of the speedforce, you called me, because opposites attract and so do soulmates. You are the reason I remembered who I was."

"And to give credit when it's due Ralph was the one who made me realize that the great possibility that's sitting right next to me is you. Has always been you. You know when he made a move on killer frost."

Caitlin laughed.

"Yeah that was amusing and scary."

"What I am saying is you own my heart, my mind, my soul."

"Oh, god. We are as sappy as rom-com characters." Caitlin laughed.

"Okay, Dr. Snow. How do I do 'I'm happy and we're just friends?"

Barry ended up wearing a blue shirt with black jeans, 'just to wear Caitlin's colors' as she had said, and his everyday coat. Just before he was ready to go Caitlin grabbed his arm and turned him towards her and kissed him.

"I am yours too. Now go."

When Barry rang the doorbell, he still had that goofy smile on his face. Which immediately left his face when the person behind the door opened it.

"Barry."

"Hello, Iris." He greeted her.

"Come on inside." She forced a smile on her face and welcomed him in.

"Hello." He greeted Cecile and Joanie. He greeted baby Jenna much more funnily. He went there and make noises to the baby who was so happy to see him she crawled at him.

"Look at her go, she's so fast." As he said that, the picture of Caitlin saying that at their first karaoke night immediately run through his brain and he smiled even brightly.

"When was that?" Cecile questioned amusingly.

"What?"

"The memory of yours that just screamed at my brain. Sounds like a fun night?" she explained.

'Busted' run through his brain but he tried to push the thought away.

"Umm, it was years ago, back when Caitlin and I were pining like fools. She had joined me at this club the bad guys were hanging, and she drank too much. She signed us up for karaoke and there needed to be some convincing for me to join." He smiled while explained.

"Ohh that sounds fun." Joanie exclaimed.

"It was. We still do it. We can't take Cisco though. He's weirdly competitive with karaoke. You should come sometime." He invited her hoping to change the subject before he spilled the beans.

"How come I didn't know about this?" Iris had been quite for so long, and she decided at that moment to contribute.

Barry froze. What was he supposed to say at that? Cecile seemed like she wanted to answer to his rhetorical unheard question. But she did something better.

"I remember you have a nice voice."

"Ehh, I can hit a few notes. Not as good as Kara though. She, she could be a professional. She's something else."

"Who's Kara?"

"Well, Joanie since you are family, I can tell you she's an alien from another earth."

Joanie laughed before she saw that everyone else was serious. "You can't be serious. What? H-how?"

"I'll explain but first, where's Joe?"

"He's in the kitchen. He has some troubles with Grandma Esther's recipe."

"Ohh, I am not going in there."

"What about Wally?"

"He was on his way when he found some troublemakers at Coast City he'll be here soon."

"Okay, then Joanie," he went on describing what the multiverse was and what he knew about Kara and the others.

"And she had that tragic great love story lately, so on our last karaoke, where we could all get drunk there was not much that stayed unsaid."

"What kind of love story?"

"Oh, I don't know if she'd want me to share that. It was just unfair, because they were two people who completed each other, they made each other better people and happy of course and yet life didn't let them be together."

"Those are the best and simultaneously the worst love stories actually." She commented.

"Yeah, we all deserve them, but nearly no one gets them." Barry agreed.

"Maybe, it's for the best. Now that I can feel what everyone feels, I have to say not everyone can handle it." Cecile provided.

"And not everyone can appreciate them." Iris added.

The doorbell rang once again and this time Joe came out before Barry was able to say he would get it.

"Hi, Joe." He greeted his adoptive father quickly and got up anyway ready to greet Wally.

As expected on the other side was Kid flash, who hugged his father and moved inside, he approached Barry and with more contained excitement he shook his hand.

Barry felt relief. Yes it was awkward but it was not malignant. They would get over it and go back to acting like themselves.

While Wally was greeting everyone, Barry got a text.

Cait: "Hey, how's it going over there?"

Barry: "we're going to be fine. Thanks Cait, you were right.

What are you doing?"

Cait: "Impromptu SUPERNATURAL marathon with Cisco."

Barry: "Have fun, babe."

It turned out Joe, for the first time in his life, had failed at dinner. He claimed the food so bad he got rid of the pan as well. And now they were waiting for the pizzas to get there. Both Barry and Wally had offered to the express delivery, but Joe insisted he wanted all of his kids in one place for as long as he could.

Forty minutes later the pizzas had finally arrived and as they were ready to serve Barry's phone buzzed again.

Cait: "Sammy, is peety hot."

Barry giggled, and texted to Cisco.

Bar: "What have you done with my girl?"

He got his plate and checked his phone again.

Cisco: "Drinking game. Every time they shout each other's name we take a shot."

Barry smiled and replied to Caitlin

Barry: "how many shots did you have?"

…

…

Cait: "7?"

"Now 8"

Barry put back his phone and joined the conversation. He had noticed Iris eyeing him all night, and the more discreet glances of the telepath.

His phone buzzed again and this time Caitlin looked completely drunk. Even with Killer frost in her arsenal his girl still got drunk pretty easily.

Cait: "Dean izz hoitrer."

"Byt u r thr hotrest."

Before he was able to reply without laughing in front of everyone or even understanding what she said, Jenna began crying.

"She wants to sleep I'll take her." Cecile announced.

"No, let me. You enjoy your meal." Barry offered.

"Sure?" she asked.

"Yeah. Come on little nugget." He said while he picked up his sister.

The girl must be exhausted because she fell asleep like a light.

So he found the time to call his girlfriend. She answered pretty quickly.

"Hii, babbbyyy. Shhhh, nobody knows." She said and laughed.

"How is the movie night going?"

"Barry, I can't win. They say eash other's names every two seconds, who ddoeess thhata?"

He giggled.

"Don't laugh they're like Deaaan, Samm." She said and made her voice as base as she could. She continued as drunkenly as before.

"And there they go again." Barry heard downing another shot.

"How's Cisco?"

"Cisco says Jo shouldn't have died…"

"What?" he asked scared, until he realized about which Jo they were talking about.

"Why not?" he humored her. In all honesty he was really keen of this Caitlin

"Jo was the only chance Dean had at happiness. And she died."

"What about Castiel?"

"Oh come on we all know they are just fishing us? No that's not the word. Baiting! They are baiting us, they are not going to make Dean bi. But they love each other Barry!"

"I know Cait, but what about Hanna or Meg?" he smiled on his own. He was just going on about this because hearing Cait talking while drunk was very amusing.

As Caitlin explained "That's why the show is awesome I wouldn't mind if that happened. I just want them to be as happy as we are. They saved the world, we saved the world. We are happy, they should be happy."

"I hope they will."

"You make me very happy, you know?"

"You make me very happy too, baby."

He was grinning like a fool.

"Look I gotta go soon. But I'll pass by your place later, make sure you and Cisco are okay. Good?"

"Of course, baby."

"Just don't play anymore okay?"

"Pff, we've already put the next episode on."

"Oh, no." he muttered.

"Honey, drink a lot of water for me okay?" he thought again "Actually can you put frost on the line?"

Before Caitlin could answer Iris walked in and he froze with the phone on his.

"You took a long time and I came to see if you need help."

"I'll come by later. Have fun."

Barry said at the phone and then hang up.

"She's asleep, let's go downstairs." He turned to Iris.

They exited the room and Iris stopped him.

"Who was on the phone?"

"No one you need to know about." He said a little too coldly.

"Barry, we need to talk."

"About what? We've already talked about everything."

"No." she stepped in his way when he tried to move.

"No, you've said some very vague excuses but I haven't said anything. And you need to hear it. I need you to hear it."

If this would help her then he would do it. Because he needed them to be family again, and that's what family does, it helps you.

"Alright, say whatever you need to."

She led him to his old bedroom and then she started talking.

"Barry, six months ago, we were married, we were happy, we were living the perfect life. Until one day you come home and you say that you can't do this anymore. That you are done, struggling to become someone else when I wasn't the one I used to. You left the house and you broke my heart Barry. I thought that this was a phase and that we would get through this, but before I knew it, you came into STAR labs and told everyone that you found a new place, you took me to the lab and you gave me the divorce papers. When I asked you, you just said the same things again. Well, it doesn't make any sense Barry.

I am here, I am Iris, the Iris you always knew, and I still love you."

She sighed and wiped the few tears that had spilled.

"I figured it out after I signed the divorce. You were the one that waited for me to be ready, you went after me, and now I am going to do the same. I am going to prove to you that you are everything."

"No, no. Iris that was not what I was going after. I don't want you to wait for me, or chase me or do anything that I did. The truth is I know I haven't been great at expressing myself. But I am doing this for the both of us."

We could divorce now, or wait until we don't recognize ourselves anymore. And then we would hate each other.

Iris, there isn't a coy or anything like that. This is a fresh start, what happened four months ago, is an opportunity for both of us to be happy."

Iris couldn't take it anymore. She shouted.

"I was happy."

And Barry didn't know what else to do.

"But I wasn't." he shouted back and left the room.

The yells were heard downstairs, so everyone was looking at him when he came down the stairs.

"We didn't wake the baby up." He just informed everyone and went to grab his coat.

"Wait, no mister. You are not leaving right now." Cecile commanded him.

"Not before we talk."

"I'll go see what Iris is doing." Joe said and climbed the stairs.

"I'll go see Jenna." Wally flashed upstairs too.

It was just Barry, Cecile and Joanie.

"So how long has this being going on?"

"The break up?" He asked although he knew she meant something else.

"Don't play dumb with me Bartholomew. You and Caitlin. How long?"

Joanie gasped but waited for the answer.

"A month."

"You mean to tell me this didn't happen while you were married."

"What? Cecile, how could you ask that? You know me. You think I would cheat on Iris?"

Cecile tilted her head.

"There's more to the story and we both know it. So why don't you finally say the whole truth to someone?"

"Look, after we erased Nora from existence, I got memories back. Memories from my time in the speedforce."

"What were these memories?" Joanie asked when Barry was hesitating to go on.

"The speedforce showed me things, it's why I am finally fast enough. The speedforce pretty much explained to me why everything has to happen. It also talked to me about lightning rods, soulmates for speedsters."

"I thought my lightning rod was Iris, but there I saw I was very wrong. Iris was never the one who told me I was meant to do this, she wasn't the one to challenge me, to bring me back to reality. This role has always been filled by Caitlin. And I never knew it because she never went after the credit. And I was an arrogant fool who thought his childhood crush was the love of his life." He chuckled.

"When Caitlin's body was occupied by killer frost, back when they couldn't work together, she used to come to the speedforce only because I was there. That's why the speedforce allowed it. She is my other half and she belongs with me."

Joanie 'awwed' and Cecile elbowed her.

"She never told us."

"She doesn't remember. She was the one who kept me sane inside there. When I came out here my brain couldn't handle it all together so I became that cell of myself, but then Iris got in danger and I heard Caitlin's voice in my head telling me to come back and help. It was like the speedforce thought it wasn't time yet, and erased everything, or rather it locked everything behind a wall."

"That still doesn't explain anything."

"Joanie, I am telling you a two year story here. It's going to take some time, I'm spilling my guts."

Joanie apologized and he proceeded.

"For a year I continued living in oblivion. Even a future daughter appeared and I believed it, we all did. Until she screw us over. But that happened later. Things started to clear out for me when I became Oliver Queen."

"What?" Joanie screamed.

"There's a baby up there trying to sleep." Cecile reminded them.

"You know Oliver Queen?" Joanie now whispered-shouted.

"Yeah, he is a good buddy."

Joanie could not believe it.

"And how, why did you become Oliver Queen?"

"A long story for another day. Anyway I was in my body but everyone believed I was Oliver Queen and I had his skills, he had my powers."

"When we fixed things, Oliver realized that he can sketch like me now. And I figured out later I can read people, their movements the tone of their voice, not like you, but I can understand what they are, their qualities, their flaws, all of it. That's when I realized that Iris is not the woman I loved. That woman never existed."

He sighed and he was ready for the first time since he figured it out to say out loud what was running on his mind.

"I was in love with the idea that I had created back when I was a teenager, and from that point on I just kept building on that, I thought Iris was the perfect woman, I was wrong."

"Barry, that's just the being in love fading out. You just love her."

"Yes, I know I love her, but she never did love me more than a friend and now I feel the same. There were clues, like anytime we don't talk about the flash business she gets bored, we don't have common idea or ideals, we don't understand each other." He sighed again and looked at the two women, they were out of words.

"The worst part wasn't that, because I thought I could fix that. I was drowning, losing myself to her. I had started to forget the most important things in my life. Caitlin got powers and I didn't notice. Cisco was heartbroken, shattered to pieces and I wasn't there. In order to please her I forgot about everyone else. And that's not me. Then the whole thing with Nora and the reverse flash happened and when she disappeared all the memories hit me, and everything became extremely clear."

"You were gonna divorce?" Cecile asked.

"It's the only way we could both get another chance."

"And you would be with Caitlin."

Joanie added.

"Yes, I knew by then it was inevitable."

"That's not all is it?" Cecile asked.

"No. one day I walked in the med lab and saw ralph making a move on killer frost. I don't know what the hell came over me then but next thing I knew a lightning bolt had hit him while frost had frozen him with her lips. Stuff happened and I almost kissed her then. The only thing that stopped me was the ring on my finger."

"So you got it out." Joanie finished for him and he nodded.

"I was trying to save all of us some pain and maybe have my happy ending. The last month I feel like I'm already living it."

Cecile looked at him. "Is that why you're keeping it a secret?"

"I didn't think Iris was ready. And I was right"

"I won't tell anyone and you don't need to ask." Joanie reassured him before he even made the question

"I appreciate that. Cecile?" he turned to the officer of the law.

"I won't say anything for now." Barry smiled.

"Don't smile, I said for now. You better say something soon though."

"Yes, ma'am."

"So what do we do now?" Joanie asked.

"We wait." Cecile said and they all sat back at the table. A little while later the other three members of the family returned.

Barry and Iris didn't look eye to eye. And Barry was afraid of what could Joe feel. The first time he met his father's eyes, Joe cleared his voice.

"It's not easy being a family, but we stick together and we overcome difficulties because at the end of the day we are happier together."

So they ate, and they made small talk. They let Wally and Joanie fill the silences with stories about their trips and jobs.

Later, once the food in front of them was gone and they were ready to move to the living room, Barry's phone buzzed again.

Cait: "Cisco fell asleep on my couch, and now I am lonely."

The message was accompanied by a lot of smiling and blushing emojis and an attached photo of her and her big brown gorgeous eyes dilated and pleading for his company.

He smirked and kept looking at Cait's cute face. Joanie who was sitting by his side leaned over and saw the message.

Before she could react Barry stood up.

"U mm, thanks for dinner, I… I have to go… help out. I need to go. Thanks see you all soon bye."

the speedster was barely holding himself from whooshing out of there that nanosecond.

"Mom, if you can read my mind," Joanie thought really hard "That kid is a goner, completely in love."

Cecile and Joanie looked at each other and smiled knowingly.

Barry was very excited to be near any version of Caitlin after the night he had. Especially the drunk one. Drunk Caitlin was very amusing she liked being naked around Barry and she really loved to be in contact with his body. She was more open with her feelings and when she was alone with Cisco they both became very grumpy.

So when he phased inside he found her putting a blanket over Cisco.

"You came!" she exclaimed once she saw him.

"Hi." He smiled.

"How'd it go? Did my messages destroy anything? I didn't mean for you to come so suddenly." She slurred her words.

"I wasn't gonna let my girl all by herself when she wanted company." He smirked "especially when she's drunk."

She came closer to him, her toes almost touching his shoes and she faced him with a serious look and her arms crossed "Barry Allen I would be so mad if you weren't so hot." She smiled sweetly and closed the distance between the two. Their kiss was lazy and sloppy at first but then her arms were traveling all over his chest and his were reaching for the skin under her blouse, their tongues wrestled more intensely and before they knew it they were both panting.

Caitlin giggled and Barry realized something. "We can't do this with Cisco here." Caitlin turned towards their asleep friend.

"No, not with that attitude." Barry smirked momentarily and told her to hold off for one second.

Next thing she knew cisco was nowhere to be seen and Barry was getting back to her apartment.

"Now we can."

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed, **

**Let me know what you think!**


End file.
